Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Easter 2023
HYMN Ye choirs of new Jerusalem NEH 124 – St Fulbert
1 Ye choirs of new Jerusalem,
Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn
In strains of holy joy.
2 How Judah’s Lion burst his chains,
And crushed the serpent’s head;
And brought with him, from death’s domains,
The long-imprisoned dead.
3 From hell’s devouring jaws the prey
Alone our Leader bore;
His ransomed hosts pursue their way
Where he hath gone before.
4 Triumphant in his glory now
His sceptre ruleth all,
Earth, heaven, and hell before him bow,
And at his footstool fall.
5 While joyful thus his praise we sing,
His mercy we implore,
Into his palace bright to bring
And keep us evermore.
6 All glory to the Father be,
All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost, to thee,
While endless ages run. Alleluya! Amen.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace with all.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us, forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, Amen.
FIRST READING – Acts 2.14a, 36-41
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them…
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptised, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
HYMN Christ the Lord is risen again! NEH 105 – Württemberg
1 Christ the Lord is risen again!
Christ hath broken every chain!
Hark, the angels shout for joy,
Singing evermore on high,
Alleluya!
2 He who gave for us his life,
Who for us endured the strife,
Is our Paschal Lamb to-day!
We too sing for joy, and say
Alleluya!
3 He who bore all pain and loss
Comfortless upon the Cross,
Lives in glory now on high,
Pleads for us, and hears our cry.
Alleluya!
4 He whose path no records tell,
Who descended into hell;
Who the strong man armed hath bound,
And in highest heaven is crowned.
Alleluya!
5 Now he bids us tell abroad
How the lost may be restored,
How the penitent forgiven,
How we too may enter heaven.
Alleluya!
6 Thou, our Paschal Lamb indeed,
Christ, to-day thy people feed;
Take our sins and guilt away,
That we all may sing for ay,
Alleluya!
GOSPEL – Luke 24.13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
SERMON – Gill Macdonald
If you take the Bible literally, God created the world and all that is in it in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. You might think that is just poetic and it took longer, but however long that took, Easter happened in one day.
At the beginning of Luke Chapter 24 v.1, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, and rushed off to tell the disciples that the tomb was empty – some of the disciples went back to check – in disbelief.
Two of those closest to Jesus (I actually think they might have been husband and wife as there were very many women who were disciples, not just the man kind!) at some stage that day decided to go home to Emmaus.
It is a distance of 7 miles from Jerusalem, it is dusty, winding, rugged, never-ending when you are tired confused and disappointed. They had made the trip to Jerusalem a few days earlier when they were looking forward to the Passover festival, meeting friends, having a good time – but things turned really sour -their charismatic, understanding prophetic friend, Jesus, had somehow got caught up in an ugly betrayal, a bogus trial, put in front of Pilate and crucified .
The dead body of their hero – someone they had considered to be more than a prophet is laid in the tomb of a stranger, their hopes and dreams are now in ruins, and these few days have turned into their worst nightmare. So time to go home – Enough is enough, the road becomes a road of departure from all that has passed, time to return to the future – whatever lies ahead now. They are so disappointed, so confused, heads bent, sad. Why should they be so downcast? Those women have told them that the tomb is empty and they had seen an angel. Really? How likely is that? Grief can play havoc with your emotions. Those women are just trying to come to terms with what is happening.
So they are on the way home, walking – (no other option) there are other people on the road – Roman soldiers marching back after their stint in Jerusalem now on the way back to barracks – merchants with donkeys laden with unsold merchandise, going home, or going on to the coast to look for more trade – Neither of them notice that someone has dropped in beside them, they hadn’t noticed where He had come from – and He butts into the conversation and asks them what they are talking about ! Where has he been? How could he not know what has been happening in Jerusalem? He walks beside them and lets them ramble on about what has happened, how they had hoped Jesus was the long awaited Messiah, but that had all been a pipe-dream. Instead of commiserating he starts to interpret all that has been happening, giving the bigger picture and suggesting that perhaps these two miserable disciples are being a bit slow on the uptake! Neither of them actually take offence, they realise that he is very well versed in the Scriptures, and somehow, he is strangely familiar. But they do not recognise who is actually within their midst!
What happens next is actually the turning point – they may be forgiven for not recognising Jesus on the road, but what if they had missed the next bit? This stranger has been walking and talking with great patience and as Mother Julian of Norwich wrote about Jesus some 600 years ago, he is acting with “exquisite courtesy” – he doesn’t push himself forward, he hesitates, and He could have just walked on, but as this husband and wife arrive back at their own home, (Verse 29) “ they urge Him strongly, stay with us, for it is nearly evening the day is almost over” and invite him in.
Having walked seven miles, they would have been tired and exhausted, they would have provided a bowl and water for their guest to wash the dust from his feet, and they would have had to cobble a meal together at that late time of day. Having provided that food, and while reclining at table with their feet up, this stranger that they have invited in, takes bread, gives thanks, and the lights go on. This is no stranger! The wonderful charismatic man they left 7 miles away in Jerusalem is back – He is definitely here, alive and well. They have seen Him, they have recognised Him, because He is breaking the bread of remembrance which they witnessed only days ago in an Upper Room.
The significance of the Last Supper is so important in the fulfilment of the resurrection of Jesus. This is the thread through which those disciples realised that everything Jesus had said and done in his ministry was the work of God, and He was the Messiah. All that he had hinted at in that upper room has now come to pass, they have witnessed the crucifixion, and they have recognised him in the breaking of bread. The new fragile Christian community would break bread in remembrance and now, here and now two thousand years later, breaking bread and drinking wine in remembrance is the sacrament that Christians throughout the world uses to symbolise their conviction and faith in Jesus Christ.
In the same way that He had turned up mysteriously on the road, Jesus now disappears and the disciples are left in huge excitement, with more energy, and absolutely ecstatic at what they have witnessed but with a big responsibility! They gather up their sandals again and make their way back to Jerusalem to tell the others what has happened.
The famous Road to Emmaus is a movement – at the beginning of the day He is risen but no-one sees Him – but there is a journey along a road and then at the end of the day a realisation, an awakening. I think we are all on the road, we hear the story and we want to believe it, but until we recognise who Jesus is, until we meet him and the lights go on, we can’t actually believe it. The important thing is that we do meet Him and recognise Him for who He is.
So this very busy Easter day is where our story starts. The ministry which was born in a stable in Bethlehem, developed through such divine teaching and healing and to all intents and purposes ended on a cross of shame, has now been transformed because of the Resurrection. Jesus has been seen alive and well, and so this is the point at which we have to take up the story, walk the walk for Jesus, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations.
We mustn’t miss Him – He is here alive and well – he is not pushy, He wants us to invite Him into our lives and His greatest desire is to have a relationship with us and for us to carry on His ministry in our daily lives.
We mustn’t miss Him – As Christians, we are Resurrection people, we can’t leave Jesus on the cross of Good Friday. Christ is present every time we break bread together, every time Scripture is read and the Body of Christ comes together – there He is, in the midst of us. That is where He meets us and where we recognise Him. AMEN
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures;
he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles: this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15.3-7
HYMN Jesus Lives! NEH 112 – St Albinus
1 Jesus lives! Thy terrors now
Can, O Death, no more appal us;
Jesus lives! by this we know
Thou, O grave, canst not enthral us.
Alleluya!
2 Jesus lives! henceforth is death
But the gate of life immortal;
This shall calm our trembling breath,
When we pass its gloomy portal.
Alleluya!
3 Jesus lives! for us he died;
Then, alone to Jesus living,
Pure in heart may we abide,
Glory to our Saviour giving.
Alleluya!
4 Jesus lives! our hearts know well
Nought from us his love shall sever;
Life, nor death, nor powers of hell
Tear us from his keeping ever.
Alleluya!
5 Jesus lives! to him the throne
Over all the world is given;
May we go where he is gone,
Rest and reign with him in heaven.
Alleluya!
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – Van Etteridge
Almighty God who hears our every prayer and who pours put on all who desire it the spirit of grace, deliver us from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that we may worship in spirit and in truth. We pray for the welfare of the Christian Church throughout the world, for the archbishop, bishops, for the clergy and for our diocese and our benefice and churches here. O Lord we ask that truth, unity and stability may abound in the Christian Church and what is lacking in it may be supplied and what is unsound corrected.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We pray for the peace of the world, for Charles, our king, for the leaders of the nations, for our government and for all in authority and those with influence in the affairs of this world. Gracious Father we ask that peace may come to our world, that we learn to respect each other, whatever our differences or similarities. We pray that world leaders may have wisdom to know, and courage to do what is right and just for all.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We pray for this community and those who live and work here. We pray for our homes and families. We pray that we may care for and conserve all that is good here and make better anything that is amiss. Dear Lord thank you for the place in which we live and for all the benefits it offers. Thank you for those who by their work make this the good place it is.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We pray for all who suffer, the displaced and desperate in Ukraine, Syria and Sudan. We pray for the weak, the oppressed and the starving, the frightened and the lonely and troubled and those sick in hospitals or in their homes. We name in the quiet those known to us ……….. Heal us Lord and we shall be healed and send relief and curing for our diseases, our sufferings and our wounds whether in body, mind or spirit.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We remember all those who have left this life and thank you for the love they have given us and for the joys and sorrows shared. Please send your gentle healing to the hurt that comes with parting. We ask now that you will direct and control us in every part of our life. Enter our minds and guide and direct our thoughts, be before us when we speak, and beside us when we act and within us that we may grow more like Jesus day by day.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
BLESSING
May Christ, who out of defeat brings new hope and a new future,
fill you with his new life. And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen
HYMN This joyful Eastertide NEH 121 – Vruechten
1 This joyful Eastertide,
Away with sin and sorrow.
My Love, the Crucified,
Hath sprung to life this morrow:
Refrain:
Had Christ, who once was slain,
Not burst his three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now hath Christ arisen.
2 My flesh in hope shall rest,
And for a season slumber:
Till trump from east to west
Shall wake the dead in number:
[Refrain]
3 Death’s flood hath lost his chill,
Since Jesus crossed the river:
Lover of souls, from ill
My passing soul deliver:
[Refrain]